Marquise’s review of 2025 on Goodreads > Likes and Comments

You have your own bloggie for this summation next year! 😘

Awww! This is so cute! Love this! Wish you all the best for this year! Happy New Year<3

But surely you will not leave us altogether, Marquise? We would be cold and confused on here without you! 🥺

It was the worst year since last year (with apologies to Flogging Molly)

I'm very sorry your books mostly sucked this year. I don't know if other people's taste in books is declining or my taste in books is refining, but I sort of feel that way about some of the books I've read, too, and just have a hard time believing how some books even got published.

I sincerely hope 2026 is a better year, both for books and for the world in general. I am certainly super excited about your blog and I hope it's a source of inspiration and happiness. Other than that, I've found that going in blind into new books has been more rewarding than checking out lots of reviews - I might be going into my crone phase, but outside 3 or 4 reviewers whose criteria I trust (of which you are one!), I honestly don't understand anybody else's taste. I'm also sad, as a recent member on GR, to see the platform slowly dying.

At least you can leave your worst reading year behind you now. And let's hope 2026 is full of five star reviews from you :)

I wasn't aware that you'd had such a rough trot this year, Marquise, reading and otherwise! I'm sorry to hear it and I hope 2026 brings you much more joy and plenty of great reads!
Congrats on the website, so great to see you following your passion! :) All the best!

Aw, big hugs, Marquise. I sincerely hope that 2026 is a much better year for you, book-wise, and life-wise.

Your blog is lovely. You and Brashcandie did such a great job! I love the layout and detailed posts. I have it bookmarked so that I can easily visit.💖

Happy New Year to you and your Cub.✨

I unfortunately also followed suit for 2025. Sorry to hear that this year was readingwise and many other stuff not so great as you probably hoped for it to be. Let's both hope that 2026 will be better and move past that, Happy New Year!!

Wishing you an upwardly moving 2026 my friend :)

Automemory Cub wrote: "You have your own bloggie for this summation next year! 😘"

I do. Bittersweet victory, though, all things considered. More loses than wins, more dark than light, more Edward Elric than Riza Hawkeye.

And we live to fight another year, Cub. 😘

Baba wrote: "Wishing you an upwardly moving 2026 my friend :)"

Back at your double and triple well wishes, Babsy! You're a dear. <3

(And I know you're one of the few who'll get the reference from my opening line, hehehe. ;) )

Mika wrote: "I unfortunately also followed suit for 2025."

Ugh, was that stupid curse hunting down that many of us this 2025?! Honestly, the things some people told me they went through that year is shocking I'm convinced something very bad was in the air. o.O

Thank you, Mika darling. You're a sweet lady, and I appreciate your words and wish you a great 2026 too.

I wish you a better year in books for 2026.

I wish you wonderful bookish 2026 year - with at least top 25!

Craig Vasiliev wrote: "I wish you a better year in books for 2026."

I'll need that better luck! Thank you, Craig. 🤗

(Pssst, what's the diminutive/nickname of Craig in Russian?)

Emiliya wrote: "I wish you wonderful bookish 2026 year - with at least top 25!"

Top 50 of 2026 to you, Emilyushka! 🤗

Vanessa wrote: "Aw, big hugs, Marquise. I sincerely hope that 2026 is a much better year for you, book-wise, and life-wise.

Your blog is lovely. You and Brashcandie did such a great job!"

Thank you, dear Vanessa! 🤗 Wish you a great 2026 too. 💖

Brashcandie is a gem, I wish she was here on GR but she never wanted to. She has indulged all my literary adventures, though, best partner I could ask for.

Jonathan wrote: "I wasn't aware that you'd had such a rough trot this year, Marquise, reading and otherwise!"

Rough trot indeed, but I was born with the endurance of Hobbitses. 😄 It's the good breakfasts. 😄

Happiest 2026 to you and your wife and children, Jonno. 🤗 Things are looking good so far. 🥰 A practicar tu español. 😄

Thibault wrote: "At least you can leave your worst reading year behind you now. And let's hope 2026 is full of five star reviews from you :)"

You sound so much like F.A.T. that I may or mayn't start hearing his voice with a Belgian accent... 😄

(Are you Flemish or Francophone? I'm never sure, or I forgot if you already told me.)

Anna wrote: "I sincerely hope 2026 is a better year, both for books and for the world in general. I am certainly super excited about your blog and I hope it's a source of inspiration and happiness."

Thank you, Annita! 🤗 Happy New Year, and may you have an excellent 2026. 💖

This site has been dying for several years now, and by this point it's the terminally ill ICU patient we the stubborn folk don't want to leave to die alone. But these recent changes may be the turning off of the machines that keep the ICU patient still breathing. :( We have to find ways to continue, and my website is my way as I don't want to go to the other socials.

And thank you for the compliment! There's very few people that can be relied on for quality reviews.

Dannielle wrote: "I don't know if other people's taste in books is declining or my taste in books is refining, but I sort of feel that way about some of the books..."

I think that since so many of the good reviewers left or became inactive, the more . . . let's say clicks-focused crowd are more obvious. Who knows? I no longer pay attention to most reviewers here, and not only because I have less time now.

Thank you, Dannielle! 💖

Fred wrote: "It was the worst year since last year (with apologies to Flogging Molly)"

Hahaha! For once, I got the reference. 😄

Saranya ⋆☕︎ ˖ wrote: "Awww! This is so cute! Love this! Wish you all the best for this year! Happy New Year<3"

Happy New Year to you as well, dear Saranya! 💖

Yules wrote: "But surely you will not leave us altogether, Marquise? We would be cold and confused on here without you! 🥺"

Besides finding good books, better people, excellent conversation, intelligent readers, a reliable community, lively group & buddy reads, and a steady supply of glitches, what has Goodreads ever done for us? 🥺

My year had not a single 5-star, aside from a couple of manga volumes. Good to hear your web site is moving forward, and that you can look forward to having a project and an audience that isn't handcuffed to this site.

Beth wrote: "My year had not a single 5-star, aside from a couple of manga volumes."

Not even ONE?! o.O

Whoa, you're either unluckier than even me or you're deeper into your "get off my lawn" phase. :P

I'm sorry, Bethsy. I don't think I've had a year without a 5-star read, but this year came uncomfortably close to it. Spain saved me with those two accidental finds, or I'd have had none as well.

Nothing to be sorry about! I enjoyed every book to some extent, even if all I got out of it was making a tally of why it didn't work, and what it could have been in the hands of someone who actually cared or had talent.

I went back into my read list and the most recent novel that got 5 stars was Anne of Green Gables in May of 2024. So it goes.

Beth wrote: "I went back into my read list and the most recent novel that got 5 stars was Anne of Green Gables in May of 2024. So it goes..."

Hahaha! So you are into chatty girls, eh? 😄 Good choice, I liked that one, and probably will resume the series at some point, my sis still has my copies.

"Chatty girl" is on the white rings of the target, but you didn't entirely miss. 😁

Actually per my review I posted, the big issue is that the summary is another example of the enshittification here. Really, Goodreads? My "first book of the year" was reviewed in mid-April, so how is that "first," per my reading volume, plus clicking the link for what was actually in my queue for 2025?

Marquise wrote: "Craig Vasiliev wrote: "I wish you a better year in books for 2026."

I'll need that better luck! Thank you, Craig. 🤗

(Pssst, what's the diminutive/nickname of Craig in Russian?)"

My name is not a traditional or common Russian name. Therefore there is no direct diminutive for my name. Though many older cousins and uncles will sometimes use a more affectionate slang term when they address me- Krei. My mother was going to spell my name as Kraig, but she and my father ultimately decided to spell it with a C. I guess because they knew they were going to be moving to the US soon after I was born. But many in Mother Russia still choose to spell my name as Крэйг or Kreig.

I’m sorry your year sucked too, Marquise. I, unfortunately, also landed the “have your crappiest year of life yet” card as well (yaaaayy) though at least my reading was pretty great aside from the random dud or DNF—funny what reading what you want and dropping stuff you don’t like can do for a girl, haha.

I pray we both have a great 2026 to make up for crappy 2025!

I am so tiiiired of Goodreads. The management has really drained all the fun from this site with their terrible changes. I have a couple of reviews to post; I just need to muster the enthusiasm to do so. lol I wish I could say I hope GR gets better this year, but deep down, we all know that's unlikely. Oh, well. To quote the famous meme: maybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way.

I'm sorry to hear about your crappy 2025, Marquise🥺I'm hoping 2026 will bring you everything you wish for🙏
2025 wasn't the worst of my life, by any stretch of the imagination. It was just a royal pain in my butt, with many indoor appliances breaking down, both big and small. Then, further insult, while I was mowing my lawn for the final time of the season, my riding lawnmower laid down and died.🫣

2025 will always be the year in my head of the true downfall of the community for GR. They're not even pretending anymore of what their intentions truly are, as they take it apart piece by piece🤬

Sorry about most of the year being crappy, but at least it improved by the end. Congrats on the blog project getting off the ground! And you are a US homeowner now, which puts you ahead of a whole lot of people here, so that’s not a bad year end :)

Yes! Congrats on that again, Marquise!

Just checked, it seems that I too had only two five-star reads in 2025 (and one of them wasn't even full five stars). I wasn't very stingy with giving four stars, but often I had to (kind of) convince myself to round up my rating.
Congrats on launching your website. Cool that you realized your dream!
Happy New Year, Marquise! Wishing you a great 2026 with many amazing books. I hope this year brings you much more happiness than 2025 did.

Beth wrote: ""Chatty girl" is on the white rings of the target, but you didn't entirely miss. 😁"

I knew it! That's why Bethsy loves me! 😄

Somebody has to get the conversation going, and I'm no good at it. 🥰

Craig Vasiliev wrote: " But many in Mother Russia still choose to spell my name as Крэйг or Kreig."

It's so rare to meet a Russian without a traditional name, I think you're the first one for me with an Anglo name aside Garry Kasparov, the chess player. I used to think his name was Gary with an extra R for the funsies, until he said it was meant to be Harry. 😄

Socraticgadfly wrote: "Actually per my review I posted, the big issue is that the summary is another example of the enshittification here."

Do you click on 'set to today' when you post your reviews? Often, GR will automatically count the date of addition as the date for 'read.'

Sarah wrote: ".I pray we both have a great 2026 to make up for crappy 2025!"

Me too! It's already an improvement by just not being 2025 anymore. That, and the curse must not like rounded-number years. 😄

Persephone's Pomegranate wrote: "I have a couple of reviews to post; I just need to muster the enthusiasm to do so. lol"

Pfft, rookie numbers! 😄 I have a dozen reviews I can't get arsed to post since last year. A dozen! 😄

Seriously, I still waffle about completely abandoning the site and just dedicating 100% to my site, and staying but severely limiting my presence. Every time I think "I should tell them I am leaving today," I log in and see all of you, and tell myself "I can't leave Persy, Thibu, Natty, the Scotties, Jen . . ." and the entire gang.

And so I stay one more day. 🫣

Debbie wrote: "2025 will always be the year in my head of the true downfall of the community for GR. They're not even pretending anymore of what their intentions truly are, as they take it apart piece by piece🤬"

I wonder what the Battle of Berlin will be for this site. Readers have resisted as best we could, but it hasn't worked. Will there be a last stand? Maybe the DMs + limited posting combo?

Debbie wrote: "I'm sorry to hear about your crappy 2025, Marquise🥺I'm hoping 2026 will bring you everything you wish for🙏"

Thank you, dear Debbie! It wasn't looking to be a bad year for me either, and then everything broke down, and it wasn't appliances... 🥺

Nataliya wrote: "And you are a US homeowner now, which puts you ahead of a whole which puts you ahead of a whole lot of people here, so that’s not a bad year end :)"

YES! 💖 Not the Civil War house with pet ghost or the fairy tale cottage I was gonna give a name to, but MY house. 💖

Thank you for reminding me of this, Natty-chan. That alone almost compensates for the rest of 2025. 💖

(In your honour, I'mma give D.E.D. your voice, though I know you don't have an English butler accent. 😄)

Debbie wrote: "Yes! Congrats on that again, Marquise!"

Thank you, sweet Debbie. 💖